Sausage Brunch Salad

Add greens to breakfast and brunch with this hearty Sausage Brunch Salad. This salad, studded with homemade breakfast sausage patties, perfectly hardboiled eggs and caramelized apples and topped with a maple vinaigrette, can stand alone as a centerpiece or serve as a side for an at-home brunch.

Love savory breakfast dishes? Be sure to check out Thanksgiving Turkey Biscuits and Gravy and Southwestern Breakfast Burrito Bowls!

Y’all.

Y’ALL.

I realize you might be rolling your eyes at my excitement about a Sausage Brunch Salad for a holiday brunch. (You know How to Host a Holiday Brunch, yes?)

BUT this isn’t just any brunch salad.

Why I love this recipe:

Let’s discuss salad for breakfast: Would you serve this breakfast salad in place of breakfast baked goods? Or alongside them?

It should come as no surprise that I’m all for more fruits and veggies and leafy greens.

This combination of kale and apple and hardboiled egg and homemade breakfast sausage is exactly what I want as a part of my morning. You might even call it a healthy breakfast. (It’s definitely got a good balance!)

In addition to being an awesome part of breakfast, this is the kind of salad you could enjoy ALL DAY.

We definitely enjoyed it for dinner one night. And it’s going to start making an appearance on our breakfast table more often.

More brunch recipes to try soon: Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes | How to Bake Bacon | Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew | Mashed Potato Chorizo Breakfast Tacos | Hearty Holiday Quiche

Need more breakfast and brunch inspiration? Head over to my Breakfast and Brunch Recipe Index for more ideas!

What you need to make this recipe:

The Speckled Palate participates in affiliate programs. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Please refer to my disclosure page for more information about these affiliate programs.

• Glass bowls
• 2 tablespoon cookie scoop
• A nonstick skillet
• 8 oz. mason jar

In addition to these tools, you’re going to need some ingredients, too:

• Ground pork—I used a leaner ground pork, but you can use whatever you’ve got on hand.
• Pure maple syrup—this is going to add some sweetness to our homemade breakfast sausage patties, as well as the maple vinaigrette
• Spices—we’re going to be using ground sage, kosher salt, fennel seed, black pepper and poultry seasoning to add flavor to the ground pork breakfast sausage patties.
• Extra virgin olive oil—we’ll need a little of this for the breakfast sausage patties, as well as the vinaigrette.
• Kale—you’ll need a bunch of kale. You may use lactino or curly kale. Shred it with a sharp knife thinly into ribbons. (The thinner the kale, the easier it will be to coat it in the vinaigrette.)
• Unsalted butter—we just need a little bit of this to cook the apples.
• Apples—use your favorite variety. I’m partial to honeycrisps because I like how they taste raw and cooked, but you do you.
• Hard boiled eggs—go ahead and have them peeled and sliced into halves so you can easily arrange your breakfast salad
• Apple cider vinegar—this is the acid in our vinaigrette. I love how it tastes when paired with the maple. Please note that this is not the same thing as apple cider or apple juice.
• Dijon mustard—we just need a little for a pop of flavor in the dressing.
• Salt and pepper—we use a combination of fine grain kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper for the vinaigrette.

How to make Breakfast Salad with Sausage

This recipe can be made in increments since we have a lot of things that are a part of this salad.

A few elements that can be made in advance and kept in the fridge are:

• Sausage patties (uncooked and sealed in an airtight container)
• Maple vinaigrette
• Hard boiled eggs

Make the Homemade Maple Sausage Patties

Combine the ground pork with the maple syrup, sage, salt, fennel seed, pepper and poultry seasoning in a large bowl. Use your hands to knead the mixture until just combined.

Don’t feel like you need to work it too much, but please know that you want it to be combined so that the seasonings are spread throughout.

Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop and form the patties. (There will be 15 at this size.) Round them with your hands, and place them on a plate.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and place the patties in the skillet.

You can do this in two batches if your skillet is smaller because you do not want to crowd the skillet.

Cook on one side until crispy and browned. Flip with a spatula and cook the patties all the way through.

Repeat the process as many times necessary to cook all the sausage patties, then set aside.

Caramelize the Apples

Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over high heat.

Add the sliced apples and cook until caramelized. This will take 3-5 minutes, depending on your stovetop.

Once one side is caramelized, flip and cook the other side.

When the apples are caramelized, remove from heat and place aside on a paper towel-covered plate.

Make the Maple Vinaigrette

Measure the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard and maple syrup into a mason jar. Shake vigorously, then taste.

Add salt and pepper, if needed.

Set aside.

How to assemble the Brunch Salad recipe

Add the shredded kale to a large bowl. Drizzle with the dressing, and toss until the greens are coated.

Layer on the breakfast sausage, hardboiled eggs and caramelized apples.

Serve within 30 minutes, and enjoy!

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips

I love a good breakfast salad like this one because it’s hearty and delicious. This recipe also combines the best savory-sweetness around without it being too much in either direction, and it leads to a really satisfying salad.

It would make an excellent centerpiece at a hosted breakfast or brunch at your home!

Here are some ways you can serve this salad at brunch:

• Make the dressing a few days in advance, and keep it cool in the fridge. Remove it from the fridge 30-45 minutes before serving time.
• Hard boil the eggs early, too.
• Dress the kale early and be sure the kale is sliced thin! The thinner the kale, the easier it will be for it to soak in the dressing. Tossing the kale with the dressing earlier will help this, too.
• Fry the sausage to order… but make the patties early. You can keep these in the fridge and cook them to order.

Frequently Asked Questions

Now who’s ready for a BRUNCH SALAD?

Scroll on down to learn how to make this goodness.

Also, if you’re making Thanksgiving brunch, be sure to check out my Thanksgiving Biscuits and Gravy, Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls and Southwestern Breakfast Burrito Bowls to pair along with this salad!